Comparing Credit Cards

All across the United States, there are hundreds and hundreds of banks and credit card companies looking for your business. This day and age, banks and credit card companies are in competition with each other, trying all they can to get your business. To try and get your business, they offer different credit cards with various incentives, rebates, and other perks.

Before you make your decision and choose a credit card, you should always compare what each company or bank has to offer you.  If you get an offer in the mail for a credit card, you should go on the Internet and look into it more.  You should also make sure that you read the fine print as well, to see if there are any type of hidden fees or other costs associated with that card.  Many times, with offers in the mail, credit card companies or banks will try to sneak hidden fees and costs in there.

When you start to compare offers, you should make sure that you look at the APR and the fees.  The APR is very important, as this will tell you your interest rate.  You want to get the lowest APR possible with your credit card.  If you look at a credit card that has an unusually high APR, you should immediately rule it out.  Credit cards that come with high APR rates can easily lead you on a roller coaster towards credit card debt.  No matter how good your credit may be, high APR rates can leave you with charges that are really difficult to pay.

Among the many options available to you, you’ll have three primary choices for your credit card - Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.  These three giants are the leaders in credit cards.  Visa and MasterCard don’t issue the cards themselves, they have banks and other companies issue on their behalf.  American Express, or AMEX, is the only one that does everything themselves.  AMEX issues their credit cards, maintains their own networks, and doesn’t use any type of third party.

If you like to travel, you will probably want to choose either Visa or MasterCard, as they are accepted all over the world.  American Express is the least accepted of the three, although the company is upgrading their networks every chance they get.  Before too long, AMEX will be accepted virtually everywhere.  Right now though, AMEX isn’t accepted in all areas of the world.

Discover is another type of credit card, although it isn’t near as popular as the three above.  Discover does have some great benefits to offer you, although it isn’t accepted in other parts of the world.  Most people who have Discover credit cards stay local and use their cards in the event of an emergency.  If you don’t have a credit card and have been thinking about getting a Discover card, you should really think about that decision and choose either Visa or MasterCard instead. 

All in all, there are a lot of credit cards to choose from.  That final decision though, is entirely up to you.  There are a lot of great companies and banks out there, although it’s up to you to find the best credit card for your needs.  You can choose to go with a company or bank that’s local to you, or get online and look for your credit card.  The Internet can be a great resource for credit cards, as long as you know what you want.  If you know what you want before you go online - you’ll save yourself a lot of time and money.

Posted in: Credit Cards